The Two Ugly Ducklings
by clslovegood47
Summary: Neville Longbottom has always been understated. In this story, he meets the girl of his dreams, a mermaid.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter (he and his world belong to JK Rowling). The Little Mermaid also does not belong to us (Disney is the mastermind behind that masterpiece).

This is our first fan-fiction and we hope you like it! If there are any major mistakes we sincerely apologize. Please inform us if we have done anything wrong.

**Prologue**

Neville drew out a long heavy sigh. He was tired. After spending the entire day in the Black Lake observing plants, he was ready to go back to the dormitory.

After he had packed up all of his gear in his tan satchel, he stopped and glanced across the lake. He paused to drink in the picture perfect sight in front of him.

"What a beautiful night," he whispered. He decided to sit down on a dry mossy rock near the shore.

As the sunset's rich hues of red and purple to take over the light blue of the day, he let another sigh pass his lips. He sat for a long time watching the bright sunny day become the black velvet draped night. It was as if a brilliant painter had splattered the sky with billions of bright, twinkling stars.

Neville sat for a long time. He knew that it was getting late and that he should be getting back. Suddenly, he remembered the curfew that all students were supposed to obey. Therefore, he finally decided to start walking back before he got into too much trouble. As he picked up his belongings, a faint melody began to resonate throughout the area. It sounded as if someone was singing, but no one was there.

"Wow, I must really be tired," Neville commented with a yawn. Once again, he slung his bag over his shoulder and started to walk away. The singing continued, but Neville tried to ignore it. Finally, temptation overtook him, he had to look back. As he turned around his eyes met a shadowed figure sitting on the rock. Neville ran to a nearby tree to get a closer look. Once he was in position he noticed that there on the rock was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He did not recognize her from school. "Who could she be?" he wondered.

He inched ever closer to get a better look, and then he suddenly came to the realization that the girl was a mermaid!

"But they aren't allowed out of the lake!" he squealed just a little too loudly.

The mermaid on the rock looked up startled. Neville dove behind a tree, and the mermaid quietly slipped into the water.

Neville quickly walked away pondering what he had just seen. She was different than the other mermaids. First of all, she was pretty! Never before had he ever seen a mermaid that looked "pretty".

The walk back to the dorm felt so much longer than before. He was surprised when he passed Luna, Colin, and several of his other friends in the hallway for it was so late, but he did not show his astonishment on his face. They tried to greet him, but he had slipped back into a deep concentration; therefore, he did not answer. They glared and giggled at his ignorance, but, as if in a daze, he was filled with too much bliss to notice. Neville kept on walking through the school's many hallways until he finally reached the Fat Lady's portrait.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter (he and his world belong to JK Rowling). The Little Mermaid also does not belong to us (Disney is the mastermind behind that masterpiece).

We apologize to everyone who had to wait for our story to be updated. The Prologue was written before finals, and after finals cls went on vacation. Later in the summer lovegood went on vacation. We found it difficult to write with such a huge distance between us. We also found summer work for the upcoming year consumes a lot of our time. Thank you all for being so patient, and we hope you enjoy Chapter 1. We will try to update more often. Once again, point out any mistakes we have made. Keep the reviews coming!

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**Chapter 1**

"Tardis," Neville muttered. As he spoke the magic words, the portrait of the Fat Lady came to life (for she had been sleeping quite soundly).

"You kids always come in so late! Will I ever get ANY sleep," the Fat Lady exclaimed as she swung open her heavy, golden hinges. In doing this, she unlocked the secret entrance into the Gryffindor common room. Neville could see the warm glow of the fire greeting him just beyond the doorway.

"Sorry," Neville replied, "I was doing work for Herbology".

The Fat Lady then rolled her eyes and murmured her response, "At least you didn't forget the password this time".

Knowing he really was not meant to hear her words, he scoffed, "Thanks." With this being said, he trudged into the Gryffindor Common Room.

Around Neville was the usual assortment of loiterers and people busy doing a variety of things. At a desk in the far corner of the room, Hermione was doing homework (it was probably Ron's and Harry's). On the couch in front of the fire, Seamus and a second year named Jeff were challenging each other with a magical jigsaw puzzle. A gaggle of first year girls named Martha, Rose, and Donna were giggling and pointing at Harry who was sitting with Ron on the stairs. Seeing this, Neville could do nothing but shake his head in disappointment.

It was amazing how Harry seemed to be this continuous source of attention, fascination, and entertainment. Neville never considered himself a jealous person, but there was something about Harry that internally brought out the worst in him (even though he never outwardly showed it). The feelings that he often felt towards Harry made him feel guilty and downright terrible. He knew one day in the future he would have to apologize to Harry.

Overall, Neville was tired of hearing about how Harry was the "Chosen One". Because of this, Harry and the other two members of his trio were extremely popular. Neville had no such luck. He feared that he would always be the forgetful, clumsy dummy with big teeth and giant ears. Life would never be fair for such an …ugly duckling.

Neville quickly shook himself out of his angry reverie and scuttled up the stairs. Once he reached the top of his never ending ascent, he felt a sudden rush of exhaustion tear through his entire being. It had been a long day.

Neville carefully meandered his way through the never ending maze of clothes, papers, and an unusual assortment of knick-knacs that littered the floor of what was supposed to be the boy's dormitory. After stumbling over a pile of shoes that had no shoelaces, he crashed awkwardly onto his bed. He had neither the desire nor the stamina to take off his clothes and change into his pajamas. Instead, Neville decided to simply mull over the days events while staring at its celestial highness, the moon, which shone majestically outside his window.

The picture of the mermaid's face had been plaguing his thoughts since he had the honor of gazing upon it from afar. It was a mind boggling situation. How could such a beautiful, radiant creature come from such a hideous race? What was her name? Who was she? Neville HAD to have ALL of his questions answered. He feared that if he did not, he would surely regret it for the rest of his life. He had enough regrets to worry about. Within a moment Neville decided that he would return to the lake in the morning to seek the gorgeous mermaid.

"Hey Neville," yelled a voice from across the room (a voice that broke his deep concentration…again). The voice belonged to Harry's most trusted comrade Ron. "What's going on? You look kind of sad."

"Oh," stuttered Neville, I…I…I was just…ummm." He sharply exhaled for he suddenly found himself without the ability to express any words. He hated it when this happened.

"Come on, Neville! Out with it," laughed Harry who had just witnessed the entire embarrassing episode as he hopped of he top of the stairs.

"Don't worry, Neville. You can tell us anything," said Ron.

"Okay! I'll tell you," Neville blurted with a sudden burst of confidence.

The eager boys scampered over to the window, beckoned Neville to follow, and readied themselves for a potentially interesting story.

Neville slowly breathed in and out then began to speak in a strong, poised voice. "Today, I was at the lake observing a plant I've never seen. Don't worry guys, the story gets better."

Harry and Ron groaned.

"Anyway, I realized that once it started getting dark that I was going to miss the curfew again. I began packing up when I looked into the sky and saw the most stunning sunset I've seen this year. I figured that because I was already late that it wouldn't matter if I stayed to watch it. As the last beams of sunlight began to make their steady descent to the other side of the world, I caught a glimpse of a beautiful girl across the lake."

"A girl," squealed Ron.

"Yes, a girl! Now, shhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Let me finish," Neville scolded in return.

"Sheesh! Sorry Neville," murmured Ron.

"Okay, where was I?" Then Neville continued," Oh yes, the girl. Well, when I looked closer, I noticed that the girl was not human."

A gasp came from his captivated audience.

"She was a mermaid. I never thought such an ugly race could produce such a lovely creature! Tomorrow I am setting out on an expedition to find her. I don't know how I could possibly live my life without seeing her again."

"Are you done?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Yes", declared Neville in return.

"Wow, Neville! That's bloody brilliant! What are you going to do?" queried Ron, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"I really don't know," Neville said plainly. "Maybe you two could help me."

Harry and Ron grinned at each other, and then they silently agreed to help. Nodding to one another, amidst squeals of laughter, all three boys knew this was only the beginning of a wonderful, new adventure.

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